Beneath These Stars
by PinkBlossom789
Summary: What if Harry Potter had been a girl? From the moment Dumbledore meets Madelyn Potter, it's clear that there is more to her than he anticipated. Her mind infiltrated by her enemy, but armed with the knowledge of an alternate timeline, Maddie is both a weapon and a liability. (This story will drastically differ from Harry's story and follows all of Maddie's years at Hogwarts.)
1. Chapter 1

It is midnight at Number Four Privet Drive. The streetlamps are vacant of their lights, leaving only the stars to cast a faint glow over the many brick houses and their neat lawns.

Albus Dumbledore walks up the front steps of the Dursley home, dressed in deep purple robes with stars all over them, an envelope in his hand. He rings the doorbell and waits only for two minutes before the door opens, revealing a small girl.

There is no doubt in Dumbledore's mind who this is.

Her resemblance to her paternal grandmother is so striking that it takes Dumbledore aback. Madelyn Rose Potter stands before him in a maroon calico dress, her eyes shining in the darkness like emeralds, her raven hair styled into two tight braids. A few wisps of hair cover the side of her forehead where her scar must be, but there is nothing to conceal the prominent purple bruise on the left side of her face.

But there is also something strange about the way in which Madelyn is staring at Dumbledore. She studies him for several seconds before he begins to speak.

"Hello, Madelyn. I hope that your aunt and uncle have received my message." He offers a kind smile but does not receive one in return. "I am –"

"I've seen you before."

Of all the things Dumbledore has expected to happen, he has never expected this. He keeps his composure and is about to reply when she continues. "I dreamed that you came to give me my Hogwarts letter and tell me I was a witch," she says. "And…" She looks as though there is more that she wishes to say, but she does not dare to speak it aloud.

Dumbledore pauses, his mind working. He then says in as calm a voice as he possibly can, "I must say I am quite surprised, Madelyn. However, why don't we discuss this after I have spoken to your aunt and uncle?"

The look in her eyes is all it takes for him to know that something is wrong. He sees her breathing quicken and can almost hear her heart beating erratically. "They left," Madelyn says, her voice breaking. "They left me." She says this last part so quietly that Dumbledore almost does not hear it.

"They've abandoned you?" he says in order to clarify, clinging to the smallest bit of hope that he has misunderstood.

But she nods. "It's been three days."

Dumbledore knows what he must do now. "Please listen carefully. I will explain everything more fully later, but it is no longer safe for you to stay here. I would like you to pack your things and then we shall leave –"

"Don't worry, sir. I've already packed." Madelyn takes a few steps into the hallway and then emerges back into the doorway rolling a small suitcase. "I knew you were coming and I thought you would want me to leave right away because of the blood wards being down!" A look of excitement suddenly washes over her face. "Are we going to Grimmauld Place? It belongs to me, doesn't it? "

The thought of a Madelyn with no knowledge of the world that she came from had seemed like the most likely possibility to Dumbledore a few moments ago. Even a Madelyn who knew about her own past and the letter clutched in Dumbledore's hand had been a faint possibility. But this?

Dumbledore smiles kindly again, feeling a mixture of sadness and confusion. "I promise that your questions will be answered soon. But come. First, we must make a stop at Hogwarts."

He is about to begin explaining about side-along apparition, but there is no need.

Madelyn steps forward and grasps Dumbledore's arm, her small face looking up at him and waiting, the bruise on her face more noticeable than ever.

"Alright then," says Dumbledore. "Hold on tight. Three…two….one."

They then disappear into the night air without a trace.


	2. Chapter 2

They arrive outside of the gates to Hogwarts Castle. Madelyn can see it shining in the distance, looking like something out of a storybook. She is unable to hold back her joyous smile as she looks at Dumbledore. She is about to say something, when the unexpected happens.

Madelyn collapses to the ground. She hears Dumbledore's concerned voice, but all she can concentrate on is the sharp pain in her scar, a sensation like a thousand needles piercing through her forehead, an agony that she has never come close to experiencing in her entire life. Several different brief images and fleeting sounds begin to flit through her mind one after the other so quickly that it is impossible to process any of them.

And then everything fades to black.

….

Minerva McGonagall checks the clock that is hung up on the wall in the entrance hall.

One-thirty. One-thirty in the morning. How McGonagall has ended up in such a situation at this hour, she has no idea.

Just an hour ago, she had been waiting for Dumbledore to come back from visiting the Dursleys, eager to hear how everything had gone over.

But when he had come bursting into the entrance hall with the Potter girl, who had been unconscious on a floating stretcher, McGonagall had completely lost her mind, asking Dumbledore questions more quickly than he had been able to answer them.

Now, McGonagall is sitting up against a wall of the entrance hall opposite Severus Snape and Dumbledore, with Madelyn still unconscious on the stretcher beside McGonagall.

There is a dead silence as the three adults stare intently at the sleeping girl, Snape and McGonagall having finished interrogating Dumbledore about every last thing that had happened tonight.

Suddenly, McGonagall sees Madelyn stir. She seems to be mumbling softly in her slumber, her face formed into a slight frown.

McGonagall listens carefully and catches some of the words being uttered.

"…lightning….the lightning-struck tower…betrayal…falling…gone…all alone…"

McGonagall looks over at her colleagues, who also seem to have heard this, judging by the astonished looks on their faces.

Madelyn continues to mumble the same words over and over again. Her voice becomes slightly louder with each minute that goes by, her face becoming more and more distressed as she tosses and turns.

"…tower…betrayed… _falling_ … _gone_ …"

After three minutes of this, Dumbledore says calmly, "Wake her up, Minerva."

McGonagall gently shakes Madelyn's shoulder. Her muttering ceases. She slowly opens her eyes and then sits upright abruptly. She turns her head around and examines everything in her immediate surroundings from the people before her to the glittering ceiling up above her.

"How are you feeling, Miss Potter?" McGonagall asks.

"I'm…fine…" she replies distractedly, now turning her eyes onto McGonagall.

"As you may have guessed, the pain coming from your scar was so great that it appears to have caused you to pass out, my dear. It gave us quite a fright," says Dumbledore.

"Why did it happen, though? Why was my scar hurting?" But no one answers Madelyn's question.

Instead, there is a silence while the adults ponder how to ask the question that they have been waiting to ask for over an hour.

McGonagall finally breaks the silence. "Miss Potter, we will need to meet with you first thing in the morning in order to discuss several matters with you. However, until then, there is one particular question we have that cannot go unanswered." She pauses, still unsure of what the right thing to say is.

But it is Snape who speaks next, his voice filled to the brim with suspicion. "Do you know your way around the castle, Potter?" His eyes are searching Madelyn's face, his expression serious.

Madelyn looks stunned that this, of all things, is the question they are asking her. She stares for a moment at Snape, her brow furrowed. "No," she says quietly.

Snape is clearly still suspicious. Madelyn surveys him with suspicion of her own and a deep frown.

McGonagall glances at Dumbledore, but his expression does not give away whatever he is really thinking.

"Very well then," McGonagall says. "I will escort Miss Potter to one of the guest rooms."

…..

At nine o'clock the next morning, Snape has been sitting in Dumbledore's office for half an hour, and McGonagall still has not arrived with Madelyn.

"Hmm. Minerva is usually quite punctual. Severus, would you mind going to see if there has been an issue of some sort with our young Madelyn?" Dumbledore asks.

Of course, this is the last thing that Snape wants to do, but there is no denying an order from Dumbledore.

Halfway to McGonagall's office, Snape runs into McGonagall herself. Her hat is lopsided and she looks rather frazzled.

McGonagall begins speaking rapidly before Snape can even open his mouth. "She isn't anywhere in the guest room. I even checked the entire floor –"

"Of course. She must already be up to no good, wandering about the castle, even after Dumbledore did her a favor and brought her here –"

McGonagall does not seem to have heard him. "Why don't you help me look for her? I will search the floor above here and you can check the one below." With that, she hurries off to look for the Potter brat.

Scowling, Snape heads down the staircase, not believing for a second that this girl has simply gotten curious and gone off to explore the castle on her own. Something tells him that she has snuck off somewhere for a reason.

The moment that he reaches the bottom of the staircase, he sees her.

She stands still in the middle of the hallway, looking directly at Snape, her expression unfathomable.

Madelyn looks like a small doll, the picture of innocence. Despite being old enough to attend Hogwarts, Snape would say that she were nine years old if he did not know better. Her hair has been tied up into a ponytail with a black ribbon and she is wearing a navy blue calico dress. She bears absolutely no resemblance to her mother, save for the eyes. But, given her resemblance to Euphemia, hints of James Potter's features can be seen throughout her face. Anger pulsates within Snape.

"What have you been doing?" Snape asks.

"I wanted to take a look at the rest of the castle. I've never seen it before." Her voice is level and calm, but something about the way her eyes are surveying Snape tells him that she is hiding something.

Snape strides up to her and she immediately looks to the floor. "Keeping secrets is not something that will be tolerated here." He pauses, but she says nothing. "You knew perfectly well that you were needed in the headmaster's office first thing this morning. What was so urgent that you felt the need to disobey his orders?"

There is a silence, Madelyn now looking at Snape's shoulder. "Answer me, Miss Potter."

Unfortunately, Madelyn is spared the need to answer because, at this moment, McGonagall shows up.

McGonagall looks between the two of them curiously. "What is going on?"

Madelyn looks up at her. "Nothing, ma'am."

McGonagall seems even more curious now, but she does not press the issue further.

As the three of them walk to Dumbledore's office together, Snape thinks to himself that the trouble has only just begun.

…

"So," Dumbledore says, looking around at Snape, McGonagall, and Madelyn. "It seems that we have much to discuss. But first of all," he picks an envelope up off of his desk and hands it to Madelyn, "I would like you to open your Hogwarts letter, Madelyn."

"Thank you, sir," Madelyn replies as she tears open the envelope. "By the way, I actually prefer to go by Maddie."

"Ah." Realization seems to come to Dumbledore. "I seem to remember that Maddie is, in fact, the name your parents intended to call you by…But of course, I knew it was possible that things might have changed since then…"

Maddie looks up from her letter. "You knew them? Youknew my –"

"I did." He smiles. But then, like Snape and McGonagall are now doing, Dumbledore gazes intently at Maddie as she reads her letter.

After a minute, McGonagall asks, "Is there anything in this letter that you do not understand, Miss Potter?"

Snape can tell that Maddie seems uncomfortable at this question. "No, ma'am. I understand it all."

The three adults all share a look.

Then, to Snape's surprise, Maddie smiles amusedly, looking around at everyone in the room. "I'm guessing you want to know _how_ I understand it all?"

Snape raises an eyebrow. Maddie is looking him directly in the eye now. "Obviously," he says. "Why else would we –"

" -have dragged a nuisance like me into the headmaster's office?"

Snape blinks. That had been _exactly_ what he had been thinking. He continues to stare directly into Maddie's vibrant eyes in disbelief. There is no way. There simply could _not_ be any way…

By this point, Snape can feel McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Maddie all staring at him curiously.

Then Dumbledore speaks again, his eyes twinkling. "Well, that is certainly one way to put it."

"Well, to answer your question, I dream about a lot of things," Maddie explains to Dumbledore. "But sometimes I just wake up knowing things without having dreamt anything."

"And how long has this been going on for?" Dumbledore asks.

"My whole life, I guess. But I don't understand a lot of it."

"And could you tell us what you have learned from these dreams and sudden bursts of knowledge?"

Maddie smiles amusedly again. "If I told you that, then I think we'd be here all day."

Snape suddenly stands up. "We are not here to play games, Potter. I suggest that you divulge _everything_ you know. You have no idea what is at stake –"

McGonagall gives Snape a stern look, which Maddie seems to be delighted by.

"I don't know much more than I've really told you. I know about how I got my scar and how my parents died." She pauses, thinking. "But there's one thing that I think could be important. I keep getting the same nightmare lately." Maddie's tone is very serious now. "I can never remember what happens, but I know there's a man in it." Everyone in the room waits for several seconds, but it seems that she has finished.

How informative. Snape wishes he were able to roll his eyes without McGonagall noticing.

"And that is all you know, Maddie? There is nothing else that we should know about?" Dumbledore asks calmly.

"No, sir."

Dumbledore sits there in deep thought, seeming to have forgotten that there is anyone else in the room.

"And," McGonagall says, "there is one more matter to address." Her eyes linger on the bruise that is on one side of Maddie's face. "Your guardianship and where you will be living from now on."

At this, Snape notices Maddie tense up.

Dumbledore sighs, seeming troubled, to Snape's surprise. "Yes. I suppose you can stay at Hogwarts for now. But we do not have much time: The ministry of magic has allowed us no more than two weeks to find you a legal guardian."

"Well, we can come up with some ideas over the next few days," says McGonagall. "I think I shall take Potter on a tour of the castle now." She beckons Maddie over to her.

Dumbledore nods. "A fine idea." He then turns to Snape. "Severus? Please stay. I would like a private word."

"Wait!" Maddie jumps up at once. "I still don't know why my scar was hurting so much last night." She looks at Dumbledore desperately.

There is a pause. "I believe it may have something to do with the dreams you have been having." Dumbledore's tone is final.

Maddie seems to be able to tell that everyone in the room is actively keeping something from her regarding the pain in her scar. She looks at Dumbledore, disbelieving.

Then, reluctantly, Maddie moves toward McGonagall, shooting a resentful glare at Dumbledore just before leaving the room.

Once they have left, Dumbledore stands up and walks over to Snape. "I would like you to carry out an errand for me." For some reason, Dumbledore's eyes are twinkling more than usual.

Snape nods curiously. "As you wish. What would you like me to do?"

"I would like you to take Maddie to Diagon Alley to get her school supplies in a few hours."

Perhaps Snape has heard wrong. But something tells him that this is not the case.

" _Me_ , Albus? Surely you don't think that _I_ would want to –"

"I assure you that I have my reasons," says Dumbledore, who is now smiling widely.

Snape feels quite irritated now. He has the feeling that, no matter how much he might ask, he will not get Dumbledore to back down from this idea.

But that does not stop him from trying. "You must be mistaken if you believe Potter will agree to this –"

"Oh, I never said that I thought anything of the sort, Severus." Snape wishes Dumbledore would stop smiling so much. "But she will have no choice. I understand that you are naturally prejudiced towards her, as she resembles Euphemia, and I suppose James to an extent as well, but her eyes -"

"What is this?" Snape snaps. "What are you trying to do?"

"And when you take her to Diagon Alley," Dumbledore continues as though Snape has not interrupted, "keep in mind that you do not lose her. You know just how packed Diagon Alley can get at this time of year." Dumbledore pauses, taking in Snape's furious expression with delight. "Why, you may even need to hold her hand –"

"That's enough!" Snape is breathing very hard now with anger.

Before Snape can get another word in, Dumbledore says, once again as though Snape has not spoken, "Thank you for agreeing to do this. I will see you later then."

Dumbledore walks back towards his desk and begins to examine some paperwork.

And Snape understands that he has just been dismissed.


	3. Chapter 3

Maddie is quiet, polite, and very much lost in her thoughts as McGonagall shows her around the castle while simultaneously giving her random information about how the wizarding world works (all of which Maddie already knows). But when McGonagall takes her straight from the second floor to the fourth floor, Maddie's interest peaks.

Apparently, McGonagall has noticed this and decides to distract her from it. "You may have noticed that Professor Dumbledore did not ask you about your relatives."

Maddie sighs, wishing that she could just put this issue aside. But maybe her problems in the muggle world must be addressed before she can begin to conquer her magical ones. "I know he just didn't want to put me on the spot in front of a whole room of people."

"Yes, that's right." McGonagall speaks a bit more gently. "What exactly happened before your aunt and uncle left?"

"He was blaming my aunt for wanting to keep me for all these years. They always argued about that, but this time…This time, he decided he just couldn't handle me anymore. And she left with him and my cousin. They must have wanted to abandon the house because they knew that Professor Dumbledore knew where the house was."

"What do you mean, he couldn't handle you anymore?" McGonagall asks worriedly.

"I was showing a ton of accidental magic once I turned ten, plus I was acting up and getting more and more rebellious."

"And how did your aunt react to all of that?"

"Oh, she didn't like it. But at least she was sort of civil with me sometimes. I think she saw my mum in me sometimes, but apparently it wasn't enough." And with that, Maddie gives McGonagall a look that clearly communicates that she is done speaking about this particular topic. "Do you think that Professor Dumbledore might let me take a look at Grimmauld Place sometime, ma'am?"

"Grimmauld Place? Why on earth would you want to go there?"

"Well, my godfather would have left it to me, and it would be nice to check it out. Maybe we could even redecorate the house as a surprise for when he gets cleared of all charges," Maddie says matter-of-factly. In response to McGonagall's puzzled expression, she adds with a laugh, "He was wrongly convicted."

"What are you talking about, Potter?"

"It's a really long story…"

….

"Albus, do you really suspect that You-Know-Who is using the girl in order to spy on us?" McGonagall sits with Dumbledore in his office, Snape and Maddie having just left for Diagon Alley.

"I believe it may be a possibility, yes," Dumbledore says, not acknowledging that both Snape and McGonagall have already asked him this same question multiple times last night. "It could very well be that he is using their mind connection to his advantage."

McGonagall shudders. "But how would he have known that you were coming to the Dursley home last night? You did say that Potter had a vision of you visiting the house, correct?"

Dumbledore sighs. "It is peculiar indeed. I have theories, but I expect we will get our answers in due time." McGonagall waits for him to elaborate, but he does not continue.

"Also," McGonagall says, still intent on asking questions, "how is it that you plan on getting the truth out of the girl?"

To this, Dumbledore smiles. "I am sure that Severus will manage to find a way."

…

Maddie walks along Diagon Alley with Snape, wondering why he has not said a single word to her since they disapparated from Hogwarts. He strides along, not looking in her direction even once, and she struggles to keep up with his pace while taking in the sights around her.

Maddie may possess secrets and a destiny that she does not yet fully understand, but in this moment, she is simply a ten-year-old like any other, an excited ten-year-old who is fascinated by being in Diagon Alley and overjoyed at the prospect of entering a new phase of her life.

Once they reach a building called Gringotts, Snape hands Maddie a key and says, "Go inside of this building. Get your money, buy what you need, and meet me back here." He promptly walks away without a second glance.

Mere seconds after Snape has walked away, Maddie hears something that catches her off guard. She looks around for the source of the noise as the sound becomes louder. It is a beautiful, enticing sort of melody, a mixture of instruments she has never heard before.

Soon, it becomes all that she can focus on.

She begins to walk, searching for the source of the music that has so captivated her senses. She can no longer remember that she is supposed to be inside of Gringotts, or even what her own name is. There is no earth, there is no sky, there is no universe – there is only this melody.

She walks right on by the bustling crowds of shoppers, none of them sparing her a glance, none of them understanding that their savior is being lured away from them and into danger's waiting arms. Before Maddie knows it, she has already passed the sign reading "Knockturn Alley".

A whisper now seems to float in among the melody, slowly repeating the same words of "Madelyn…you're almost there." The words feel like a boat drifting out to sea that she has just stepped into, pulling her closer and closer to her unknown destination.

Finally, she stops in front of Borgin & Burkes, knowing in her heart that this is where she must go. She walks inside, the melody still filling her heart and her soul.

No one is inside. She walks toward the back room, when it opens suddenly, revealing a tall man with pale blond hair and cold gray eyes.

The music still plays, although not as strongly as before. Maddie stands there, waiting obediently, wanting nothing more in the world than to do as she is told.

"Madelyn." A triumphant smile breaks out on the man's face, and she wonders who he is speaking to. Is Madelyn her name? "You've made it," he says gently. "Do you want to come with me?"

She nods, feeling a deep sense of trust for the man.

His smile grows wider. "Then come." He holds out his arm. "You will apparate with me."

Then the music stops.

Maddie takes several steps backwards as she struggles to come back to her senses, just as she hears the front door to the shop slam open.

She turns around, seeing Snape. Before she knows it, he has already dashed over to the blond man.

She is startled and confused when Snape begins speaking in a calm, yet calculated, manner. "My, my, Lucius. Look how desperate you've become to be the one to kidnap Madelyn Potter. I would have expected you to do it in a much less crowded place."

"I understand that you need to pretend to be protecting the child for Dumbledore, but I am under his orders –" begins Lucius.

"What rubbish is this? What orders?" Snape's voice becomes sharper and Maddie's fear is like a block of ice melting all at once in her veins. She had been warned about many things, but never anything like this.

"He – he is back, Severus. I am in charge of bringing the girl to him by the end of the summer. Please, I know what I am doing –"

"That is impossible. The dark mark is –"

"The mark may still be faded, but I tell you, he is back! Please, he'll kill me –"

Maddie cannot see Snape's expression from where she is standing, but she does notice that he takes a few deep breaths before saying, "I promise to help you, Lucius. But you must cooperate with me. It cannot be done today, or else Dumbledore will wonder how I was not able to stop you from taking the girl."

Maddie remembers the advice given to her in her dream: _"Promise me one thing, Maddie. Promise me that you'll trust Severus Snape, no matter what."_ It goes against her every instinct to stand here and listen to Snape, a complete stranger (and a rather unpleasant one at that), agree to assist her would-be kidnapper.

Just as she begins to contemplate forgetting the advice and making a run for the door, Snape speaks again to Lucius, this time more violently. "Well? Do you understand?"

"Yes, I – I underst –"

"Good. Then Potter and I will leave after you have done so." Snape speaks to Lucius with a commanding tone, almost as though he is the one in charge of him. He stands still, waiting expectantly.

"Very well. But you do plan on obliviating her, yes? We would certainly not want her to remember this conversation, now would we?" says Lucius.

Snape nods and Lucius disapparates with little hesitation, but only after glancing at the corner where Maddie is standing, a cold and merciless expression upon his face.

Snape stares at the spot where Lucius has just vanished and then casts a spell.

 _"Expecto patronum!"_ A beautiful silver doe emerges from his wand. Maddie feels strangely drawn to the creature and is awestruck by its beauty.

Snape concentrates on the doe for a few seconds, almost as though communicating telepathically with it, before it disappears in midair.

Less than a minute later, another silvery figure, this time a phoenix, bursts into life before them, and it too seems to communicate silently to Snape.

Once the silver phoenix has vanished, Maddie can feel herself trembling as she locks eyes with the man before her. Should she trust him? Had he really been lying to Lucius?

"If you trust Dumbledore, then you trust me, which would mean that I was indeed lying to Lucius Malfoy, wouldn't it, Potter?" he says, still concentrating on her eyes. In response to her startled look, he says, "It appears that you are not the only legilimens at Hogwarts, after all."

"What are you talking about?" Maddie asks, feeling extremely dumbfounded. "I can't do legilimency."

"Do not lie to me. You used legilimency on me in Dumbledore's office."

She has no idea what to make of this. "I didn't. How would I have done that?" Had she done it without realizing it?

Surprisingly, Snape does not question her further on this.

Her gaze unwavering from Snape's pitch black eyes, her mind wanders back to her encounter with Lucius Malfoy. "Prove it. Prove that I can actually trust you."

"Prove it?" Snape seems a bit angry with her now. "Isn't it enough proof that I have not already obliviated you?"

Maddie thinks a bit and concludes that maybe Snape does have a point there.

Snape walks toward the shop door and she follows. "Come," he says. "I believe we have some errands to take care of." A grimace crosses his stern face as he says these words.

Maddie simply stands there, looking at Snape blankly.

"What is it now?" he snaps.

"Well, it's just that I can't believe you would still want to go shopping at a time like this! I mean, my life's in danger!"

Snape glares at her. "It is not a question of what _I_ want. Professor Dumbledore would like you to purchase your school supplies today."

Then it clicks in her mind. Dumbledore must have sent Snape a message about this using that strange silvery phoenix.

If Dumbledore does not think she is in so much danger that she cannot go shopping, then maybe she is overreacting just a little bit. Anyways, as she had been told in the dream, it is not her job to stop all of Voldemort's plans. The adults around her should be able to take care of most of that, she had been reassured. And that means that right now she must follow Dumbledore's advice.

Snape strides forward without looking back to make sure that she is keeping up, and Maddie hesitates before following him.

…

In Flourish and Blotts, Snape lingers only a small distance away from Maddie, a slightly bitter look on his face as he looks through the books on the shelves.

After a while, Snape catches her avidly examining an invisible book. "That is not on your list. Now go pay for your books."

Maddie places the invisible book back on its shelf and picks up a bright pink book, feeling mischief course through her. Now that she is no longer in immediate danger, her lightheartedness over being in Diagon Alley has returned somewhat, although she still feels uneasiness over nearly being kidnapped by a death eater.

Snape walks over to her and grabs the book out of her hands a bit roughly. "I have taken you here in order to buy your supplies, not to dawdle. I have more pressing matters to attend to once we get back to the school."

Maddie, feeling glee at Snape's annoyed reaction, makes her way over to the counter.

The cashier, a woman around McGonagall's age, ceases restocking the shelves behind the counter and turns around once Maddie greets her.

The ink bottle in the woman's hands falls and smashes. Her eyes are wide with shock, but after a few seconds, she seems to have regained her composure.

Maddie has no idea what to make of this. Even Snape seems to be concerned at the woman's reaction.

"Is something wrong, ma'am?" Maddie asks.

"Oh, it's nothing, dear. Don't worry about it."

Once they have exited Flourish and Blotts, Maddie says to Snape, "Do you know what that was all about? Did she recognize me? But how could she have if my scar's always covered?"

A dark look casts itself over Snape's face and he does not answer.

They enter the apothecary. Once Maddie has finally managed to find everything on her list, she continues to wander around the shop. As soon as Snape figures out that she is "dawdling" again, he scolds her once more, this time more harshly than he did in Flourish and Blotts.

Maddie makes easy conversation with the elderly woman behind the counter, managing to even make her laugh at one of her jokes.

The woman looks over at Snape with a kindly smile as she hands Maddie her shopping bag. "Such a darling little daughter you've got, sir."

Maddie needs to keep herself from bursting out in giggles. When they leave the shop, Snape has a scowl on his face.

When they enter Madam Malkin's, it is already filled with many customers. Snape takes a seat and begins conversing with a man with bright red hair, while Maddie is told by Madam Malkin to wait while she finishes up with some other customers.

Maddie hops up onto a stool. To her left is a slightly older boy with bright red hair and to her right is a girl her age with bushy brown hair.

Soon enough, Maddie is engaged in an animated discussion with both children while they all wait for Madam Malkin.

"I still can't believe that they would have sent Snape, of all people, to take you to Diagon Alley," says the boy, who Maddie has learned is named Fred Weasley.

"Me neither. I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking," Maddie says, shaking her head.

"Anyways, do either of you two know what house you want to be in?" asks Fred.

"I hope either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," Hermione says excitedly. Hermione had been a bit quiet at first, but had been quickly brought out of her shell by Maddie and Fred. "What about you, Maddie?"

Maddie ponders the question and then turns around to look into Fred's lively blue eyes. With a smile, she concludes, "Definitely Gryffindor."

"You seem really certain about that," says Fred, laughing.

"Of course I am. I can't be in any house that Fred Weasley isn't in," Maddie says with a playful wink.

"Because you can't resist the idea of being able to plot pranks with me and my brother in the Gryffindor common room," Fred says, grinning.

"That's not the only thing I can't resist," says Maddie quietly, looking into his eyes again.

Maddie then turns away from a confused-looking Fred to speak to an equally confused Hermione. "So, do you want to visit me tomorrow for my birthday? Assuming Professor Dumbledore says it's alright."

Hermione's eyes light up. From what Maddie has been able to gather, Hermione must not be used to receiving such invitations from anyone. "I'd really like that."

Filled with joy and having completely forgotten about Lucius Malfoy, Maddie turns to Fred. "You're invited too, Fred."

As Fred is agreeing to this, Madam Malkin walks over to him and finally begins doing his measurements.

The three of them continue their conversation, and by the time they leave the shop, Maddie finds it difficult to stop smiling.

…

"What do you mean you cannot give Potter her wand today?" Snape asks Ollivander, Maddie by his side.

Personally, Snape feels that the holly and phoenix feather wand had seemed to work very well for the girl when she had tested it out.

But Ollivander has other ideas. "Her wand must be specially crafted, Severus," Ollivander repeats again, not bothering to elaborate any further this time. Snape has rarely ever heard of Ollivander being unable to provide a wand on the spot for a customer before.

Ollivander promises to mail Maddie her wand before the start of term, and they finally leave the shop, Maddie walking ahead of Snape excitedly, her dark hair shining with faint red highlights in the summer sun.

….

Half an hour later, Snape is in his office with Maddie sitting across from him, looking very nervous.

"Surely you know why I wanted to speak with you, Potter?"

"Yes." She bites her lip to hold back laughter. "Yes, I do."

Snape feels his blood pressure rising. "What is so funny?" It seems to him that the girl is making light of the situation in order to cope with her nerves. He recalls both of her parents utilizing this same tactic in their school days.

"Because you think I'm hiding something, but I'm not. I told Professor Dumbledore everything."

"Then," says Snape, "why are you unable to look me in the eye if you are, in fact, telling the truth?"

Maddie has nothing to say to this.

Snape hesitates, wondering if he should do it now. Dumbledore would certainly disapprove of his methods, but maybe Snape has no choice.

His mind made up, Snape pulls out his wand. "Legilimens!"

Snape watches as image after image flicks by.

A brief glimpse of one particular scene catches his attention, and he pulls himself out of her mind in shock.

He glares down the equally shocked girl across from him, many questions filling his mind. "You will allow me to extract every single memory of importance from you. Do you understand me, Potter?"

"What was that?" she asks, her face turning pale. "I've never seen that one before –"

Snape ignores her, places his wand at her temple, and searches.

Maddie seems to understand that she has lost this fight, and she does not argue with Snape.

He finally finds what he is looking for. He feels several memories swimming around in her mind that almost seem to vibrate with a strange kind of magic. He pulls out several silvery strands from her temple and deposits them into an empty jar.

"You may leave now," says Snape, still thinking about what he has just seen.

But Maddie does not leave. She stands there, thinking hard. "Sir, maybe…Well, could I offer a suggestion?"

Snape does not answer her, his mind still on the jar of swirling memories in front of him.

"Don't watch those memories by yourself. Maybe it would be easier if you watched them with Professor Dumbledore." She then makes her way towards the door and leaves the room.

He listens to her footsteps leave and then picks up the jar of memories and makes his way up to Dumbledore's office.

…

With Dumbledore by his side, Snape places his head into the pensieve.

He finds himself in a strange-looking room. Everything in the room is completely black: the ceiling, the floor, the walls.

Maddie is standing in front of a wash of silvery mist that has just appeared from the other side of the room, and when it disappears, a young man in his mid-twenties emerges. He has chestnut brown hair and deep brown eyes that almost seem to sparkle with energy. Snape feels that this man is vaguely familiar, although he cannot say why.

The man finally speaks. "Hello, Maddie. My name is Teddy Lupin." His hair changes to sky blue, then a bright orange, and then settles on a forest green. "Blimey, you're so young."

"Is this a dream?" Maddie asks.

Well, it _is_ a dream…technically. But it's also technically _not_ a dream." He grins at the confused look on her face. But then he sighs. "I'm here to tell you a few things."

Snape and Dumbledore listen as Teddy describes in detail several facts about the wizarding world and Maddie's past, gently reasoning with her whenever she shows signs of disbelieving that she is a witch and speaking with sympathy whenever addressing the Dark Lord's downfall or her parents' deaths. By the end of this long explanation, Teddy seems to have gained Maddie's trust.

"But why have you come?" Maddie asks, finally addressing what Snape also wishes to know.

"I'm from the Department of Mysteries, and," Teddy hesitates, "I'm also from the future, Maddie. In the future, I'm your godson. And I'm not supposed to be doing this, but I'm taking it upon myself to warn you of what will be coming in the future so that you can stop it from happening."

To this, Maddie is speechless for a moment. "You're my _godson_? But then, who are your parents? And what do you mean, you're warning me about what's going to happen –"

"Let me show you a few memories from your pensieve that you have in the future." Teddy's handsome face shines with great sadness..

Teddy waves his hand in the air and a movie seems to start playing on the wall.

On the screen, Minerva McGonagall stands outside of a brick house on a quiet street at the dead of night, listening to the sound of a crying baby in the distance. She moves closer to the source of the noise and ends up in the backyard.

A baby girl with jet black hair is wailing in a plastic baby carrier on the grass. McGonagall makes soft shushing sounds and picks up the baby, managing to calm her down with ease. McGonagall sends a patronus message and waits, the baby now fast asleep in her arms.

Seconds later, Dumbledore apparates onto the lawn. Baby Maddie stirs slightly at the noise.

"Don't you understand what this means, Albus?"

Even in the darkness of the night, Dumbledore's worried blue gaze is discernible. "The blood wards are down. We need to find the Dursleys and bring them back –"

"And what if it happens again, Albus?" McGonagall continues speaking even when Dumbledore begins to say something else. "And don't you dare tell me that it won't happen again! They just abandoned their one-year-old niece in the dead of night, for heaven's sake!"

"I don't trust them either, but this is the best hope we have for Madelyn's safety, Minerva. We simply need to be more stern with them –"

"I warned you that these people would not take good care of her." Snape has never seen McGonagall so upset before. "Can't someone else take her in? Molly and Arthur, Ted and Andromeda…" She looks for a second as though she is about to suggest that she herself raise Maddie.

Dumbledore's eyes grow sadder. "I wish I could do just that. But there may very well come a day in the future when the blood protection is the only thing that will be capable of saving Madelyn."

The scene changes, and this time they see a preteen Maddie in the hospital wing, speaking to Dumbledore.

"You still haven't told me what happened to Ron and Hermione," she says quietly.

Dumbledore looks at her with grief in his normally twinkling eyes. He says nothing, but she seems to understand, and her face grows very serious.

The scene changes. Maddie is dressed in a Gryffindor school uniform and sitting on her dormitory bed. She writes a very long entry into a small black book. Snape takes a look and catches a snippet of what she has written: "I can't look Percy, Fred, George, or Ginny in the eye. Everything that happened last year with the sorcerer's stone is my fault…"

And, to Snape's amazement, the page suddenly absorbs all of the ink. New words start to form as though written by an invisible hand. Before Snape gets a chance to read these new words, he is thrown into a completely different scene.

Maddie is sitting in Dumbledore's office, looking astonished. "You have to be kidding me. Sir, how could this have happened –"

Dumbledore looks more bitter than Snape has ever seen him. "After all the trouble you went through to save him, too. I'm so sorry, Maddie."

The scene changes again, and now Maddie is in an empty classroom with Dumbledore, McGonagall, Barty Crouch Senior, and Ludo Bagman.

"Yes, there may be a way to keep her from competing in the tournament. However," Barty Crouch says to Dumbledore, "it would be quite…risky, to say the least."

"We are willing to at least consider everything," McGonagall says, putting a hand on Maddie's shoulder.

To Snape's disappointment, the scene shifts again before he can hear any more details about this tournament, and now Maddie is certainly a few years older than the preteen version that currently exists in Snape's own timeline.

Maddie, accompanied by a few other teenagers around her age, stands before a veil in an unfamiliar dark room.

"Maddie, this is a trap, it has to be. Are you sure that you saw Sirius behind that veil in your vision –" begins Fred Weasley.

The last thing Snape sees before the scene shifts is Bellatrix Lestrange appearing from around a corner, a smirk playing on her lips.

In the new scene, Maddie races down the school corridors until she finally reaches Dumbledore's office. She slams the door open without knocking.

Dumbledore looks up from petting Fawkes the phoenix. "Maddie? What is wrong –"

"I've figured it out." Her eyes are alight with a strange emotion that Snape cannot pinpoint.

"Figured what out, dear?"

Still panting heavily from her running, she says, "I'm the last horcrux, aren't I?"

Dumbledore considers her for several moments, his expression not giving away anything. "How do you know this?"

"Professor, you've always known that my friends and I have a knack for figuring out all the exact things you don't want us to know about." Her tone is calm, not at all accusing.

"Yes," Dumbledore sighs. "Yes, you certainly do."

The scene changes. Maddie is now in her mid-twenties. She is sitting in a kitchen with a view of the sea outside of it. Bill Weasley, his face scarred, and a silver-haired young woman sit opposite her. The three of them are watching four children play outside, three of them with silvery hair and one of them with hair that keeps changing colors.

"Well, out with it. You said there was something you wanted to ask Fleur and I," says Bill.

"I want you two to raise Teddy." Maddie says these words rapidly and is met with a shocked silence.

"But Andromeda clearly wanted you to raise him. And didn't you promise Remus and Tonks that you would?" says Fleur with a very slight French accent.

"I was thinking it all over," says Maddie. "And I can't raise him with the knowledge that I'm the reason he has no family left." Her voice is filled with pain.

"Maddie," Bill says in a hushed voice, "Teddy would never blame you for that. You know that –"

"Oh, he will when he's older, once he finds out what really happened." Maddie sighs. "I've only ever told the two of you what happened, you know."

"You never told the others?" Fleur's eyes grow wide. Both her and Bill look dumbfounded.

"Neither of you understand! I've had nightmares every night ever since my first year of Hogwarts. Too much has happened. It's like I never really defeated Voldemort. It's like the war never ended. I just…Anyways, the point is that I can't be what Teddy needs. And if he stays with me for any longer, then he'll get his hopes up that I'm going to adopt him –"

"No." Bill speaks firmly. "I can't allow you to do this. After all these years of you telling us that you wish you could have been the one to raise him…I know you'll regret it forever if you just hand him over to us."

And with that, the memories end.

Snape's mind is reeling as he stands in the black room again and watches the ten-year-old version of Maddie and the grown version of Teddy Lupin.

Teddy immediately launches into a detailed explanation of Maddie's life story, filling in the gaps that the memories had not been able to fill.

By the end of the explanation, Maddie seems just as astounded as Snape feels. "How can one person possibly go through all of that?" She pauses. "Why didn't you show me more memories –"

"I didn't want to take up too much time, in case one of my coworkers catches me in here. But even if I did have enough time to show you everything, a lot of the more informative memories are…traumatic, as you can probably guess," says Teddy. His smile seems to take a lot of effort. "Now, it's time for me to leave."

"Teddy?"

"Yes, Maddie?"

"Can you visit again sometime? It gets really lonely at the Dursleys, and you're really good company."

Teddy's heart seems to be shattering into a million pieces at her words. He smiles again. "I'll see what I can do."

The memory ends and several more appear after it.

By the time Snape and Dumbledore have exited the pensieve, neither of them have any words to say to each other for a very long moment.

…

At midnight, Dumbledore is still sitting at his desk, wide awake and chatting with the portraits, his mind still lingering on Maddie's memories. He will discuss the memories in more detail with her the day after her birthday – There is no need to discuss such heavy topics on what is supposed to be a happy day.

"Enter," he says to the knock on the door.

In walks Maddie. "Hi, Professor."

"Hello, Maddie. To what pleasure do I owe this visit?" He is somewhat surprised that she has sought him out after her apparent anger at him earlier.

"I couldn't sleep and I just wanted to talk. I wanted to say that I don't blame you for leaving me with the Dursleys. I know the magical protection was really important for me."

Fawkes glides over to her and she strokes the bird's red feathers gently.

"You are very kind, my child. But if you had been upset with me, then you would have had every right to be." Dumbledore sighs. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"Yes, actually. Did my scar hurt because Voldemort's back?"

Dumbledore nods. "I believe he must be."

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?" Her tone is slightly accusing.

Dumbledore pauses and then decides that there is no point in keeping information from her anymore. It might do more harm than good. "I felt it best for you to know as little as possible about what he is up to, as I feared that he might try to spy on our interactions using the mind connection that I highly suspect you two share." He takes in her serious, yet determined expression. "But after seeing all of those memories of yours, I believe it would be best to be completely open and honest with you. And now I have a question for you."

"You want to know why I didn't tell you everything?"

Dumbledore nods, amazed at how perceptive she is for her age. From what few interactions he has had so far with the girl, he can already gather that she at least has one strength that she might be able to use to her advantage in this fight against Voldemort: a talent for dealing with people. She has an outgoing personality and an ability to read other people that reminds him strongly of Tom Riddle.

"I was going to tell you, but Professor Snape was there, and I didn't want him to know anything. He just seems…like someone you shouldn't trust, you know?" says Maddie.

Dumbledore smiles. "I assure you that you can trust Professor Snape with any information you have."

"How do you know you can trust him, though, sir?"

Dumbledore looks into her deep green eyes, eyes that are filled with a childlike innocence despite the tumultuous future that awaits her. "I'm afraid that is one secret that I must keep from you, Maddie, as it is not mine to share."

He can tell that she is nearly bursting with curiosity now, but she says nothing further. "So. Tomorrow is someone's birthday, isn't it?"

A genuine smile forms on her lips. "Professor McGonagall said that she asked you to invite the Weasleys and Hermione Granger."

"Ah, yes. I have already contacted them and they will be arriving tomorrow." Dumbledore is glad to see her smile grow even bigger. Little does she know that they are not the only people he has invited.

"And Professor McGonagall told you about Sirius Black, right, sir?"

"Yes, dear. I am working on a way to speak with him and, hopefully, have him released from Azkaban." Dumbledore looks at the clock. "You should get some rest. After all, tomorrow is a big day."

"Goodnight, professor."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes, sir?"

"Happy birthday, Maddie."


End file.
